Cross-City Trail expands

Work begins on two new sections

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The city officially broke ground on more than three miles of the Cross-City Trail at ceremony on Feb. 18 at the intersection of Randall Parkway and Brailsford Drive. Students from the Cape Fear Center for Inquiry also attended the event.

With the help of more than $2 million in federal stimulus funding, construction of Phase I between John D. Barry Drive and the Cameron Art Museum and Phase II between Converse Road and Randall Parkway will begin in February and take 4-6 months to complete.

Phase I will be 0.85 mile and includes connections to the internal trail network within Halyburton Park and improved pedestrian crossings on George Anderson and Museum drives. It will also provide an improved bus stop for access to the park.

Phase II, which will add 2.80 miles to the trail, will stretch from Randall Parkway at Brailsford Drive to Independence Boulevard at Converse Road. It will include a bridge over Burnt Mill Creek, a trail through Empie Park and improved pedestrian crossings at Wrightsville Avenue, Park Avenue, Oleander Drive and Canterbury Road. It will also connect to the River to the Sea Bikeway along Park Avenue.